Brenda Ostrom has lived in this Gold Rush-era town since 1998 and lately has been busy building what she calls her dream kitchen. “It’s all custom,” she says. She’s already put in around $80,000 dollars into this renovation and expects it to be done by September.
Ostrom likes the people in Mariposa and has gotten used to the climate. But she’s seen many fires come close to her town, too. As a fast-moving fire broke out in the town’s hillside last week, residents rushed out of their homes.
The French Fire started on the Fourth of July and quickly burned 908 acres. Firefighters managed to stop the fire’s progress right at the town’s edge. “There have always been fires but they’ve not been like this,” she says about the French Fire, which spread fast under a heat wave and caused residents to evacuate.
The blaze threatened over 1,000 homes – many of which are the only homes residents in Mariposa have. By some estimations, the French Fire is the seventh wildfire over the last 20 years that has grown to more than 500 acres. As of Wednesday, the blaze was 80% contained, and the cause remains under investigation, according to Cal Fire.
“I think the first year it happens, you’re like, ‘Wow. That was bad. But what are the chances of that happening again,’” Ostrom says, reflecting.
“You don’t think it is, but then it’s just a recurring theme right now.” Despite the frequency of fires in recent years, Ostrom isn’t ready to leave yet. She’s pl.